World Superbike
Ducati event summary
Donington
Edited: Mar 30, 2011, 9:18 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Ducati Extends Lead In World Superbike Championship
Ducati is exited to report a great start to the World Superbike Championship, winning three out of four races and taking the lead in both the rider and manufacturer championships.
Marco Melandri, Carlos Checa, Leon Camier on the podium
Photo by: Dave Dyer
Carlos Checa took his Althea Racing Ducati 1198 to a double podium on Sunday in the second round of the World Superbike Championship at Donington Park, with a third place in race one and a well calculated victory in race two strengthening his series lead. Jakub Smrz secured his first ever podium position with a career best second on his Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing Ducati 1198, extending the Manufacturers' championship lead and underlining Ducati's strategy of private team support.
Starting from an impressive pole position set on Saturday, Checa lacked "feeling" from his rear tyre in the cold Donington Park conditions. Slipping back to eleventh position by the end of lap one, he gradually found his rhythm and was able to chase down the leading group on his Ducati 1198, passing first Troy Corser (BMW), then Jonathan Rea (Honda) and Leon Camier (Aprilia). Up to fourth place by lap 19, Checa's determination saw him lap below 1m 30 seconds for the final three laps to secure third position just before the finish line. Czech Republic rider, Jakub Smrz clinched his first ever podium position with a rewarding second place, having dominated much of the race on his Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing Ducati 1198.
Carlos Checa and his technicians changed their set-up to a softer tyre for the second race and with a higher track temperature made a great start, quickly passing Leon Haslam (BMW) to take the lead and increasing the gap between him and the chasing pack. With the risk of the soft tyre choice becoming an issue during the final stages, Checa carefully controlled the race taking the chequered flag with a well-calculated 3.3 second advantage over Marco Melandri (Yamaha).
Today, everything worked perfectly.
Carlos Checa
"In the first race I was struggling at the start," said championship leader Carlos Checa. "I didn't have feeling with the rear tyre and as a result I lost a lot of positions, but I have to say it was one of the most exciting races of my career! After the first laps I was able to build up a good rhythm and start moving up through the pack one rider at a time. It wasn't easy but I pushed hard and then two laps from the end I realised that I could maybe get past Haslam for third. I'm really happy because I didn't think I'd get from eleventh on lap one to the podium. We made the decision to use the hard tyre for the race and even though we paid for this at the start it turned out to be the right decision in the end. We opted for the softer tyre in race two even though we knew it would perform a bit less towards the end of the race. It remained pretty consistent but towards the end I had to change my riding a little to manage the situation. My strategy was to get to the front, built up a bit of a lead and then manage that lead and today, everything worked perfectly."
The early season results so far highlight Ducati's continued commitment to their World Superbike strategy of supplying 1198 technical support to private teams while concentrating on the development of their Superbike product. The highly competitive series moves to the Dutch track of Assen on 17 April.
-source: ducati
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article WSBK Donnington Sunday Report
Next article Kawasaki event summary
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Marco Melandri
Melandri steps down from Barni Ducati WSBK ride
World Superbike
World Superbike
Melandri steps down from Barni Ducati WSBK ride
“Regenerated” Melandri back in WSBK with Barni Ducati
World Superbike
World Superbike
“Regenerated” Melandri back in WSBK with Barni Ducati
Davies ill-suited to Ducati V4, says Melandri
World Superbike
World Superbike
Davies ill-suited to Ducati V4, says Melandri
Latest news
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
6 h
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
6 h
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
How to watch NASCAR at Talladega II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
7 h
How to watch NASCAR at Talladega II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
Peterson Racing addresses online abuse after parting ways with Austin Green
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Talladega II
7 h
Peterson Racing addresses online abuse after parting ways with Austin Green
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe